Improvement in winding attachments for watches



l, q du .1111 141141 l S. H. GATE. Winding Attachment for Watches.

No. 221,666. Patented Nov. 18,1879.

,M A 2U 1 M W UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

SILAS H. GATE, OF VATERTO'WN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT lN WINDING ATTACHMENTS FOR WATCHES.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,666, dated November 18, 1879; application filed May QS, 1879.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, SILAs H. GATE, of Vatertown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in latch-Keys, ot' Which the following is a specification.

The nature ot'my invention consist-s in forming the pipe of a Watch-key with nearly the whole of one side removed, so that it may still act as a Wrench i'or turning the winding-stem, and befreeto be turned down flat onto theinner case of the watch without being removed from the hole in the said case, the handle part ot' the key being made so small, iiat, and thin that the entire key can remain and allow the outer case to be closed.

1t also consists in combining with the said key a thin hinged piece, which lies partly below the inner case, and thus holds the key to it.

n the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, showing an enlarged view of the key and the Windingstem of the Watch. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same, taken through the line .10 a; of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of my invention, taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. l. Fig. el shows a plan of the key having the hinged holding-Hap at.- tached. 1t also shows a part ot' the inner ease of the Watch. Fig. 5 is an elevation of my invention, showing the hinged holding-Hap lying under the inner case, also indicating by dotted lines the position ot" the key when the same lies down between the inner and outer eases.

Let A, B, and C represent, respectively, the handle, shank, and pipe ofthe key. rlhe pipe part C ot' the key has a square prismatic opening made in it to receive the square paxt of the Windingstem or arbor of the watch. This opening is at its extreme upper end, as indicated by dotted lines, inclosed on all four sides;

but for most of its length one side is open to admit of the key being turned down, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 5.

From the peculiar construction of the pipe (l, it will be readily understood that whenA the key is erect, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, it has a iirm grasp on the top part of the windingstem, the part indicated by c completing' the square around the stem, and when this is swaged from line steel itis amply strong for winding the Watch.

The part E, which, when combined with the key, forms the second part of my invent-ion, consists of a thin flat piece of metal cut or stamped with three prongs, c c c. (See Fig. ei.) Two of these prongs, e of', have inwardlyturned ends, which enter into the sides ot' the shank B ot' the key, and thus form a hinge for the-whole iiap to turn upon. The prong e rests on the top of the shank, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The use of this l'lap E is to hold the key from dropping ott' when the outer case is open.

To insert the key, the outer case is open wide and the inner one partly open, so that the iiap E may be inserted in the key-hole. rlhe iiap is then turned so as to lie nearly flat with the case, which may now be closed, which action will secure the key to it.

I claim- 1. The watch-key composed of the parts A, B, C, and c, formed substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination ofthe key A, B, G, and c with the hinged iiap E e e and the inner case of the watch, substantially as described, and for the purpose set-forth.

SILAS H. CATF.

Witnesses:

E. H. LINCOLN, WILLIAM GoeAN. 

